Richard Montgomery

Montgomery, Richard, 1738?–1775, American Revolutionary general, b. Swords, Co. Dublin, Ireland. After entering the British army, he was sent (1757) to Canada in the French and Indian Wars and saw action at Louisburg, Ticonderoga, and Montreal before participating in operations against Martinique and Havana (1762). In 1772, he sold his army commission and returned from Great Britain to America. He settled near New York City and married (1773) a daughter of Robert R. Livingston (1718–75). An opponent of British colonial policy, he was (1775) a member of the New York provincial congress. In the same year he became brigadier general in the Continental army and replaced Philip J. Schuyler as commander of the Montreal expedition in the ill-fated Quebec campaign. After taking Montreal, he joined Benedict Arnold and was killed (Dec. 31, 1775) in the assault on Quebec.